Have You a Photo of Your Elan in the 60s/70s?

[Slowtus]

Posted elsewhere but worth reposting ...

S2 and a couple/few Plus 2's

[RedS4]

My car in the early '70's about four owners back, in its original yellow, before it turned red about 25 - 30 years ago, and how it looked at its last outing (a few years ago).

[trw99]

Time for a bump!

This was the dash of my first Sprint (bought in 1976), with an 8 track stereo. The glovebox held only about four of those huge cassettes. On long journeys the music could get rather repetitive!

The black spoked Moto Lita steering wheel had come out of my Mini. I can't recall what I did with the steering wheel the Sprint came with, but I'm pretty sure it was not the original - at least, I hope it wasn't!

Post some more snaps, folks!

Tim

[TBG]

Ere we go Tim! D

[TBG]

Bump start this one! I suppose those of us who were running Elans in the 1960s are now in their 80s - I know I am! Still driving them though and off to the Pyranees in June for a blast or two. The photos posted above were around the time our wedding in 1966 - we nearly went away from the reception in it but knowing our friends we went away in an old Landrover, covered in Properts white - remember that? and half a ton of tin cans. Went on to Heathrow in the Elan. Then children came along and in one photo you can see the Cortina Estate for SWMBO and the Moke for me - had it for 13 years as my daily driver and took it to the USA twice, Greece, Malta, Monte Carlo - Carribean twice, Gibraltar - all courtesy of Her Majesties ship HMS Bulwark. Happy days and probably not possible today. Come on you very oldies show us you are not dead - yet! D

[NickWilmshurst]

Here's my S2 in the mid-70's along with a GT6 which was the worst car I've ever owned!

[DrinkMan]

The original owner of our Elan was James Clark (not "THE Jim Clark") who was the son of Henry Austin Clark Jr (he is worth a google search) who owned the Long Island Auto Museum. At one point, the Elan was featured on a post card from the Long Island Auto Museum. Here is the post card (one came with the car, I bought another from the Henry Ford Museum):

[rgh0]

My Elan in 1976 not long after i purchased it. Riding high at the front as the engine is out for my first learnings on building and modifying Twincams !

cheers
Rohan

[elanner]

Well, I've posted this in a different thread sometime in the past but I'll repost it here mostly because I'm amazed that it's such a good quality photo.

Taken in 1974 with a Canon FT, probably with a 50mm (or 55mm?) lens, 35mm slide format. I scanned it with an Epson V600 scanner during the quiet days of early Covid lockdown. Few of my other slides have held up as well as this one.

Anyway, it's my first Elan. S4, 1969.

I seem to have no good pictures of my second Elan, a red S3, 1967, except this one, viewed through a fence. This was taken at a Lotus meeting at Goodwood in, I think, June 1979. The other three photos were taken at the same event. Goodwood race track was pretty scrubby back then.

Happy days!

Nick

[vstibbard]

26-S2-40 being loaded for its first test drive. Owner Bill Gates and Co Driver/Mechanic Jim Bertram

Waiting in pits before 1st drive

Orginal owner Bill Gates taking my 26R out for its first track outing

My 26R Lakeside 68 12 hour race start, the car finished 2nd outright to the 250LM

[trw99]

Another bump!

I know there is an Europa Twin Cam in the way, but there is a Plus 2S 130/5 just behind, in this shot of the Lotus stand in mid-build at the 1972 Earls Court Motor Show.

It was at this show that both the 5 speed gearbox and Tawny Metallic Brown colour were introduced. I know there was a Sprint FHC & DHC in tawny over white on the stand, but have never seen any photos of the completed stand. Anyone?

Tim

[StressCraxx]

Early autox snap by Vic Cooper

[Sadbrewer]

My 1969 Elan S4 FHC copied from a slide I took around 1982 in Scarborough . The original colour was French Blue but following a minor front end shunt I (regrettably) had it repainted Porsche Minerva Blue. I have some in it's original colour somewhere.

[saildrive2001]

My car in the UK, Detroit & Canada.

[gjz30075]

Autocrossing in the '70s.